God often asks us to do hard things. In fact, as true followers of Jesus, we'll be doing hard things all the time. In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."
It's hard to deny yourself. It's hard to take up a cross. It's hard to live like Jesus did. It's hard to keep a passion for justice ablaze permanently and not just for a short time. It's hard to love someone who shows you no love in return. It's hard to stand for what is right when no one else is. It's hard to keep praying when it seems like your prayer is going unanswered. It's hard to be kind and polite to that person who's rude to you. It's hard to let go of what you want to do so that you can serve someone else. It's hard to speak the truth that no one wants to hear. It's hard to forgive someone who hurt you. It;s hard to be joyful when things don't go the way you wanted them to. It's hard to be unselfish and serve when no one sees and no one says thank you. It's just hard. Actually, it's impossible. But God is calling us to live this impossible life. It's not about obeying a list of rules. It's that we love Jesus and He says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments," John 14:15. But we can't. No matter how hard we try, we'll never be able to. In our own strength, we can't. But God is not asking us to do these things in our own strength. He never gives us commands without also enabling us to obey them. He wants to give us His strength. He wants to fill us with His power and do through us what we could never do on our own. "Without Me, you can do nothing," Jesus says in John 15:5. And as Corrie ten Boom once said, "When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds." When we have Jesus Christ living inside us, we have the power to live a life that would otherwise be impossible. We will become people who love and serve our families, pray and keep praying because we know God will answer, do justly, love mercy, walk humbly, rescue the oppressed, stand for what is right, no matter the cost, share the gospel... to put it simply we reflect Jesus Christ in every area of our lives and we will do it all, as C.T. Studd says, "with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts." No, these things will not save us; what we do will not get us to heaven, as some people believe. We are saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ. It is His atoning work on the cross that rescues us from sin and death. But when we give our lives to Jesus Christ, we can't go on living the same way anymore. Our lives now belong to Him and the way we live should reflect that. No, we won't do it perfectly. We'll make mistakes. And when we do, we'll seek His grace and start again. So, let us go and live this impossible life, not in our own strength, but in His. "'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4:6
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My book Do Justly: The Call to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus is published! This has been my prayer, the moment I have been waiting for! I first began this book three years ago when I was 14. I could never have imagined the twists and turns life would take since then! But now, at last, it is published. And as a gift for you, here is the introduction for Do Justly...
"If you want to change the world, pick up your pen." -Martin Luther I couldn't sleep. I lay awake in bed, unable to sleep. I knew God was telling me something. And I knew what. There was a verse in the Bible, in the book of Micah. A verse I needed to read. A verse about justice and mercy. I’ll look it up in the morning, I thought. Time passed and still I couldn’t sleep. Have you ever had that? There’s something God’s telling you to do. “I’ll do it later, tomorrow,” you say. But He’s persistent. You can choose to ignore what He’s telling you, or choose to do as He says. “Alright, God,” I said and climbed out of bed, got my Bible and flashlight, and began to read. I found the book of Micah, started at the beginning and read until I got to chapter 6, verse 8. There it was. “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Let me back up. Shortly before this, God had really opened my eyes to the injustices of abortion and modern day slavery and given me a desire to do something about it. I’d been thinking and praying about what to do and after that night I became more and more certain of what I should do—write this book. At first, it was only going to be about abortion and modern day slavery, but then I began to expand it to include information about orphans, poverty, the persecuted church, and because of my little sister Sadie, epilepsy and children with special needs, among other issues. In short, it’s about gaining God’s heart for the hurting and oppressed, and beginning to see through His eyes. It’s about Jesus, and following Him wherever He leads. Parts of this book may be hard for you to read. Parts of it were hard for me to write. But I believe this is what I needed to write. I am young, and this book is written for my fellow teenagers and young people, but my hope is that whoever you are, you’ll be encouraged and inspired. Truth is, though, I feel completely unqualified to write a book like this. I’m still a teenager. I haven’t even graduated from high school yet. But God is showing me He uses the unqualified to accomplish His purposes. His strength is made perfect in weakness. Like the little hobbits who set out to save Middle-earth, or the Pevensie children who rescued Narnia, we are unqualified. Yet, I believe God can use us to do amazing things. He just asks us to be willing. Willing to see through His eyes, willing to gain His heart, willing to follow wherever He leads. He used David, a young shepherd boy, who simply said, “I will do it,” to slay a giant. Even though I am weak, even though I am unqualified, He can use me. And He can use you. **************************************** I hope you enjoyed the sample! Want to read more? Buy the book here: THE BOOK Thank you ever so much! -Savannah |
Hi! I'm Savannah Jane...I'm the author of several books for children and young adults with a passion to encourage young people to live for Jesus. The third born in an amazing family of seven children, I was homeschooled all the way through. This is where I share encouragement for Christian girls, updates about my books, writing tips, book and movie reviews, and assorted other tidbits. Archives
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Quote"When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds."
-Corrie ten Boom I'm on GoodReadsFollow my family's writing, illustrating, and publishing business/ministry.Follow my blog on Bloglovin' |